Solitary Man

Solitary Man hit home for me in a few ways. First of all, the stellar cast was in fact...stellar. Michael Douglas is in top form with a role he's familiar with on screen. Michael's character grows on us as a wise, go-get tum, never-mind-the-bollix attitude that we love to see in ourselves. Deep down however, it's apparent he's reaching for his youth. He befriends a young character (Jesse Eisenberg) advising him about college, love and zest for life, but when things begin to fall apart in his own life, he's forced himself to finally make a decision to face the challenges of his own not so youthful life. Only Michael Douglas could pull this off IMHO. He carries his character in such a way that we still care about him, even after his rather devious actions. The film really could be considered a vehicle for Michael, being in almost every scene, yet there stands Danny DeVito, Susan Sarandon, Marie Louise Parker, Jesse Eisenberg, etc to support this fine film.

At 65 years old, Michael Douglas can still command the movie screen. In recent years, his choice of parts has looked somewhat desperate to me. Solitary Man got little publicity and is playing largely art houses around the country. And it is quite a film. It is very much Douglas at his aging best. His character is true to the Neil Diamond song by the same name, a version of which is sung (badly) over the opening credits.

Featuring an all-star ensemble cast, Solitary Man centers on Ben Kalmen (Douglas), a formerly rich, highly-successful "honest" New York car dealer who pulled off a Bernie Madoff-level scam, got caught, prosecuted, and lost all of his money and most of his respect in the ensuing years-long legal battle. He did avoid jail, however. The movie opens before the scandal and 6 ½ years before the current day, with the always-cocky Ben (think Tom Sanders in Disclosure) going in for his annual physical. His long-time doctor "doesn't like his EKG" and orders major diagnostic tests for him. Flash forward to now.

Ben is divorced from his wife, Nancy (Susan Sarandon in a luscious cameo); living with a rich younger woman, Jordan (Mary-Louise Parker) and her daughter, Allyson, (the very talented Imogen Poots); trying to get a new car dealership approved by the local city council; and chasing women successfully all over the Boroughs. This 60+-year-old has all the moves, and they still work on younger women. He hops from bed to bed while milking his live-in and trying to re-capture the success he exudes from every pore but without the money or the friends he once had. Ben is living a nightmare. He is trying to bury the images with meaningless sex and a carefree, live-for-the-moment attitude that is vaguely reminiscent of his roles in films like Wall Street, A Perfect Murder and Wonder Boys.

When Jordan gets ill, she commands Ben to take Allyson to her college interview at Ben's alma mater, where he has been a major donor with his name on the library and everything. Here, the film hits its stride. Ben doesn't want to be there but the memories flood back, including those of his first meeting with Nancy. He leaves Allyson to do what she wants while he befriends a young college student (played by Adventureland's Jesse Eisenberg), becoming a mentor in the process. He also gets reacquainted with his college buddy, Jimmy Merino (Danny DeVito with whom Douglas has done countless films and with whom he roomed as a young thespian), an underachieving good guy who never left the college town and who owns a small café near campus. The very best moments involve Ben and Allyson; don't miss them.

Let's just say the story evolves from here with Ben's life spiraling downhill, all of his own doing. Nothing has been the same since the day his doctor told him he might have a serious heart problem. Everything came up smelling like roses until then and it's been all smelly fertilizer since. Even his only good relationship - with his married daughter, Susan, who loves her dad, listens to his problems and helps where she can – begins to decay. Played by The Office's Jenna Fischer in a performance that was a revelation, Susan doesn't hold any grudge about the divorce or dad's highly publicized fall. But he even does her wrong.

There are several questions the audience wants answered. Can Ben be redeemed? When he hits rock bottom, will anyone be there? Will his heart give way before that? Will he commit suicide, die of natural causes, or be saved? Co-writers Brian Koppelman and David Levien direct their first major movie after having penned films like Rounders, Runaway Jury, and Ocean's Thirteen (all favorites of mine), and they do so with aplomb. This is an exceptional, if depressing, independent film that shows that Douglas can still act, entice, entertain, and engage.

Solitary Man tells the story of Ben Kalmen (Michael Douglas in a good performance), a formerly successful car dealer now on a downward spiral. Now close to 60 years old, Ben seems to be living a sort of late identity crisis, chasing younger women and trying desperately to start a new business while his personal life goes down the drain as quickly as his financial situation.

The direction and writing, by Brian Koppelman and David Levien, takes a bittersweet approach to this story, chronicling the events while elegantly letting us decide what we think of Ben. In this respect, I felt they were honest and not manipulative. Unfortunately, this will also make it hard for some people to relate to the subject, unless they have contemplated those situations themselves.

The story is quite simple at its heart and tackles issues that are becoming more and more prevalent in our society. That is, we are constantly told we deserve it all, we deserve it now and we deserve it forever. Ben (implicitly and explicitly) would like to be the person he used to be, has a hard time redefining facets of his life.

Viewers will have different takes on Ben, ranging from admirable to pathetic but he is never demonized nor sainted in the movie. Unfortunately, while the themes are strongly driven throughout the film, the story itself looks more like a series of anecdotes, some of which are not stringed in the most elegant way.

The whole cast around Douglas (quite an ensemble) is excellent, except Susan Sarandon who is surprisingly bland and not up to her usually high standards. I felt her characters had few scenes but they were key to invest the audience and something was lacking there.

The film's ending is great and more food for thoughts but overall, Solitary Man falls short of being a classic due to a few writing issues.

Ben (Douglas) got caught in a car scam when he owned numerous car dealerships and paid a hefty fine for his role. He lost his wife and is trying to get his life back by setting up another car dealership.

The title of this could have been Scorpion because a scorpion does what a scorpion does regardless of circumstances and anyone and anything around it. Ben is a womanizer and that seems to be on his mind all the time despite everything else going wrong in his life. And, that never seems to change.

Ben is likable to all, but when we see him we do not like him and wish he would do the right things. There is a moment, in the beginning, when we feel Ben has it all together, has all the answers, but then we discover we were wrong. He has the gift of gab, but even though still likable, the people around him do not trust him and don't believe him either…..yet they hope the best for him.

This was a great job by Douglas so much so that I felt his pain when he reflected from time to time. A great supporting cast brings everything home to us and we are helpless to do anything but hope Ben finally realizes what he is up against. An Oscar nomination for Douglas may be in the works, but Jenna Fischer who played Ben's daughter, Susan, may get a Best Supporting nod. She was us watching Ben and hoping.

The real winner in here is the dialogue throughout. It was honest and effective.

In the beginning, Johnny Cash sings the song Solitary Man in a slow rhythmic way to let us know Ben's plight, but the song is about women who did him wrong and that was NOT the case here. Did I hear someone say, "Ooops?" It is Ben's sexual nature that does him wrong, not any woman. The ending to this story leaves us with a choice as to what we would like to see happen, but remember the scorpion.

Violence: Yes, some, not much Sex: No. Nudity: No. Sexual Content: Yes, almost throughout Language: Yes, but not much.

"You can't cheat death, Benny. Nobody can, no matter how many 19-year-olds you talk into your bed."

The topic of the mid-life crisis and men losing their identity and sense of self as they get older has been fertile ground for movies in the past, and Solitary Man is another entry into that sub-genre. 

It's a drama with slight comedic elements. Michael Douglas stars as a once powerful man who lost his wealth and position when he was caught running a scam. He fills that void with ill-advised trysts with young women and depending emotionally on his exasperated daughter. When his last-ditch attempt to regain his past career is derailed because of another poor decision, he has to confront what his life has become, his own self- destructive behavior, and how his choices have affected the people around him. This isn't a ground-breaking story, but it's certainly watchable and occasionally emotionally involving. 

The real reason to see Solitary Man is the cast. Along with Douglas, the movie stars Mary-Louise Parker, Imogen Poots, Danny DeVito, Susan Sarandon, Jesse Eisenberg, and Jenna Fisher. Some of the parts are bigger than others (I really wish Sarandon would have been a larger part of the movie), but fans of any of them will want to see this. 

For everyone else, Solitary Man is a movie you should watch if it piques your interest. Will you be adding it to the list of your all-time favorites? Probably not. It's definitely worth ninety minutes on a Sunday afternoon, though.